Adjustable chairs



6 18, 1958 J. H. HUMPHREY 2,823,732

ADJUSTABLE CHAIRS Filed 001;. 26. 1954 INVENTOR. Jomv f7. HUMPH/QEY A T TOR NE).

United States Patent 50 ADJUSTABLE CHAIRS John H. Humphrey, Port Washington, N. Y.

Application October 26, 1954, Serial No. 464,677

Claims. (Cl. 155-116) This invention relates to adjustable chairs, and more particularly to dual purpose chairs which may be adjusted between relaxing and upright positions.

Modern living and modern housing, particularly where living and dining accommodations are combined in one, make it most desirable that the chairs employed be capable of being used for a variety of purposes. Otherwise one has an unnecessary number of pieces of furniture, some of which are always taking up and wasting the space that is attempted to be saved by such combination accommodations. Nevertheless when one wants to sit up at a table while eating, a chair that assists in sitting in an upright position is rather essential, though when one wishes to relax such chairs leave considerable to be desired.

Dual purpose chairs are also needed and can be effectively used in offices or student quarters; in upright position for use at a desk and in relaxed position for reading. In the bedroom they can be used in upright position at the dressing table and in relaxed position for reading. Also in the living room, though normally usable as lounge chairs, they can be shifted into upright position for use at a card table. Many other situations in which such a chair meets outstanding requirements for which there has heretofore been no solution would of course suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. It is thus to be understood that the foregoing suggested uses are merely for illustrative purposes.

Another essential is that such a dual purpose chair have an attractive appearance, while being easy to move from one part of the room to another, and being easy to adjust from one position to another. The chair of the invention meets such and other requirements in a simple and economical manner, and introduces many improvements into the art.

It is accordingly the principal object of the invention to provide an effective dual purpose chair.

Another object is to provide such a chair which is of simple and economical construction.

Another object is to provide such a chair which is light and easily transportable about a room.

Still another object is to provide such a chair which has an attractive appearance.

A further object is to provide such a chair incorporating simple, fool-proof, easily operable means for maintaining it in either of its positions.

Further and more detailed Objects will in part be obvious and in part be pointed out as the description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, proceeds.

In that drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the frame of the chair located in upright position with the cushions thereof shown in dot-dash outline;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the chair in relaxed position;

Figure 3 is a rear view in reduced scale of the chair in the Figure 1 position;

M 1C6 a Figure 4 is a similar view, but showing: the chair in the Figure 2 position;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the rear frame element of the chair;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the front main element; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the adjustable seat support.

Considering first the rear frame element, it will be seen to comprise a pair of identical spaced parallel frames 1 and 2, with suitable spacing and connecting members therebetween. Only one of the frame members need be described, so selecting frame 1 for this purpose, it is seen that it has a rear leg portion 3 which extends upwardly in a rearwardly curved are from a foot portion 4. The bottom of the portion 4 is mounted on a suitable pad member 5 for seating the frame on the floor. At its upper end the leg portion 3 turns into a forwardly extending arm rest portion 6 which is curved downwardly at its forward end into a front portion 7. The portion 7 extends down to an abrupt corner 8, from which it continues in a bottom portion 9 back to the rear leg portion 3. The various spacing and connecting members extending between the identical frames perform several functions. The back and front connectors 10 and 11 serve to hold the frames 1 and 2 apart while maintaining them in the proper spaced relation. Also the connector 10 serves to support the rear end of the seat when the chair is in relaxing position while the connector 11 serves to support the front of the seat in upright position.

The member 12 spacing the frames apart at the position 8 has particular significance. It serves as the pivot member or axle about which the moveable elements of the chair swing by a scissors action as they move between upright and relaxed positions. It is preferably of circular cross section and is securely and fixably mounted to extend across between the corners 8 of the frame elements and secure the frame together at this position.

The other significant spacing and connecting member comprises a frame 13 of generally rectangular form whose base 14 serves as an axle and is seated between the upper ends 15 of the back leg portions 3, being secured thereto at its ends. Pivotal collars 16 pivotally secure the sides 17 of this frame to the axle base 14 to swing within the arm portions 6. The length of the sides 17 is such as to locate the chair back in proper upright position when such positioning is desired.

The side 18 of the rectangle 13 opposite and parallel to the axle 14 preferably carries an inwardly projecting handle member 19 whose ends are secured to the side member 18 but whose intermediate portion is spaced therefrom to form a hand hold. This facilitates the swinging of the frame 13 into and out of the Figure 1 position where the side 18 engages the back of the chair.

The other main frame element of the chair consists of a pair of spaced parallel frame members 20 and 21. These are identical so only one of them needs describing. Each of the members 20 and 21 commences with a front leg portion 22 formed on an upward convex curve, which curve reverses at the pivot position 23 into a concavely curved portion 24 forming an underseat portion. At the position 25 where the cross brace 26 is located, the frame members become straight and extend straight upward in the back rest portion 27. j

The cross brace 26 serves to hold the frame members 20 and 21 in proper spaced parallel relationship, as well as serving to assist in supporting the rear portion of the seat when the chair is in upright position, as illustrated in Figure 1. In addition, it acts to rock the seat supporting frame towards its upright position and holds the seatfirm by pressing against the member 32,. as will appear hereinafter.

At their'up er ends the portions 27 may merely terminateas free ends so long as the back rest of the chair has a solid piece extending across these members, or is otherwise so constructed as to tie the. members 27 together. Alternatively, theportions 27 may be continued across at the top in one integral piece joining them together, or a separate joining piece may be used for this purpose.

The spacing between the outer surfaces of the members 20 and 21 is slightly less than that between the members 1 and 2 of the back leg frame construction. Thus the members 21 and 22 will seat within the members 1 and 2 and can be swung within the same. This is illustrated in the two rearview showings of Figures? and 4.

Reverting to the Figure 1 showing, it will be seen that in the assembly of the chair, the frame made up principally of the members 20 and 21, is seated within the frame of the members 1 and 2 from the pivot position 23 to a position along the back rest portions 27, which latter position depends upon whether the chair is in upright or relaxing position. At the point 23 the members 20 and 21 have U-shaped clips 28 secured to their inner surfaces and extending up therefrom in open loops 29 of suflicient extent to rotatably receive the member 12 therein. Thus the frame made up of the members 20 and 21 is pivotally mounted to swing on the pivot or axle member 12.

At their bottom ends the front leg portions 22 are suitably provided with pad members 30, comparable to the pad members 5, and with respect to which the leg members 22 have a certain amount of free motion to keep the pads fiat on the floor as the position of the legs changes.

The other frame element completing the chair frame is the seat support shown per se in Figure 7. This is in the form of a pair of U-shaped frame members 31 and 32 lying in planes which intersect at an angle. The side members 33 of the frame 31 and the side members 34 of the frame 32 have their free ends 35 and 36 secured to the outer surface of suitable pivotal bracket or collar members 37. These bracket members are curved interiorly to the curvature of the axle member 12 on which they seat and turn, as best seen in Figures 3 and 4. The width of the frame members 31 and 32 is such that they will lie and swing within the frame members 20 and 21 with the pivotal brackets 37 seated on the axle 12 inwardly of the pivotal members 28.

The base portions of the frames 31 and 32 are suitably secured to a solid seat bottom 38 in a manner to allow the frame members 31 and 32 to swing between the Figure l and Figure 2 positions as the chair is adjusted from upright to reclining position and vice versa.

When the chair is set in the upright position, as is seen in Figure 1, the frame base 32 is engaged by the cross brace 26 while the base of the frame 31 engages the brace 11. The'moving of the chair into this position from the Figure 2 position causes the seat to be raised a short distance.

The extent of this raise can be visualized from appreciating that it is caused by the scissors action of the leg portions 9 and 22 which raises the axle 12 as the angle between the portions 9 and 22 is reduced in moving them from the Figure 2 to the Figure 1 position. This reduction of the angle causes the brace 26 to move upward and forward and to engage the frame base 32, thereby rocking the seat supporting frame from the sloping position of Figure 2 to the approximately level position of Figure 1. The scissors action of the members 9 and 22 in moving from the Figure 2 to the Figure 1 position also raisesthe cross member 11 to a position where the forward portion of the seat bottom 38 rests on it. The extent of the lifting action is determined by the length of the arms -17 which length is selected to seat the members 27' in proper position for the chair to be used in upright manner. An incidental stop is also created when the legs '33 come up against the brace 11 The parts are so related that at this stage the seat of the chair is at the proper height for use at a dining or other normal table. When the frame 13 is swung into place, and seated in the Figure 1 position, the chair is located rigidly in upright position.

As can be appreciated from the showing in the drawing, the frame elements for the chair of the invention have a minimum of parts, but, particularly when they are assembled together, they have ample rigidity and have nothing to readily break or come apart. Nevertheless the frame members, when made of a light-weight metal, or of iron or steel, have negligible weight so that it is easy to move the chair about the room as desired. The provision of substantial pads at 5 and 30 enables the chair to be slid over a rug or carpet without the necessity of lifting it, and the relatively free joints where the pads join the legs provide for the change in angular relationship between the pads 30 and the legs 22 that is effected as the chair is adjusted between the Figure 1 and Figure 2 positions.

Suitable cushions are of course provided for the seat, the back and the arm rests, but these being matters within the skill of an ordinary upholsterer, they are merely illustrated in dot-dash lines. Actually, a solid lightweight back member comparable to the seat member 38 is preferably secured between the upright portions 27 to give rigidity to those portions and to serve as a backing for the padding.

To briefly restate the adjustability of the chair, let it be assumed that it is in the relaxing position of Figure 2. When it is desired to move it from this position to the upright position of Figure l, the user merely needs to push forward on the back against the members 27, or against the member between them. This raises the back and moves it forward. As soon as the brace 26 comes in contact with the base of the frame 32 it rocks the frame members 31 and 32, lifting the rearof the seat off of the cross brace 10 and moving the seat upwardly and forwardly. Due to the scissors action of portions 9 and 22 the forward part of the seat is eventually engaged by the cross brace 11 and raised slightly thereby. By the time the back 27 has been swung far enough forward to enable the locating frame 13 to be swung upward from the Figure 2position, past the vertical, and down into the Figure 1 position, the member '31 will just about have made contact with-the member 11. At the same time, the member 26 will be in engagement with the member 32, thus the chair will be located rigidly in upright position. The effecting of this conversion from relaxed to upright position involves a simple, straightforward operation which would be obvious to anyone, includes nothing that can get out of adjustment, and is an action that can be carried out almost instantaneously. The reverse action is similarly obvious.

The particular relationships of the frame elements shown in the accompanying drawing are productive of a chair which is most comfortable in either of its two positions. It is to be appreciated, however, that the relationships shown are for illustrative and not limiting purposes.

Similarly illustrative rather than limiting are the showings and description of the particular expedients for the assembly and actuation of the chairelements. These expedients are of the utmost simplicity. One skilled in the art might readily envision alternatives of these and other features of the invention without, however, departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Speaking more generally, it is to be understood that since certain changes may be made in the above article, and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described my invention, what I claim is new and desire to obtain Letters Patent for is:

1. In a multiple position chair including a seat and a back, means for mounting said seat and back together in adjustable relationship, said mounting means including in combination, means for varying the height of said seat, means for varying the length of said seat, means for varying the slope of said seat and means for varying the angular relationship of said seat and back.

2. In a multiple position chair including a seat and a back, means for mounting said seat back together in adjustable relationship, said mounting means including in combination, means for moving said back for- Ward, means acting in conjunction with said back moving means to move said seat forward and to raise the rear of said seat and means to raise the front of said seat.

3. In a multiple position chair including a seat and a back, means for mounting said seat and back together in adjustable relationship, said mounting means including in combination, means for moving said back forward, means acting in conjunction with said back moving means to move said seat forward and to raise the rear of said seat, means to raise the front of said seat and unitary means for maintaining said back in forward position and said seat in raised position.

4. A multiple position chair including, a seat, a back, and frame members for carrying said seat and back, said frame members including in combination means for varying the height of said seat, means for varying the length of said seat, means for varying the slope of said seat and means for varying the angular relationship of said seat and said back.

5. A multiple position chair including a seat and a back and means for supporting said seat and back and for changing the location of the same from upright to relaxed position and vice versa, said supporting means including in combination, means for raising and lowering said seat, means for varying the length of said seat, means for varying the slope of said seat, means for varying the angular relationship of said seat and said back, and means for locating said seat and back in their extreme positions.

6. In multiple position chair construction, a seat, a back, mounting means for said seat and back including means for varying the angular relationship of said seat and said back, a seat supporting frame, a pivotal mounting for said seat supporting frame, means mounting said seat supporting frame on said pivotal mounting, and means for varying the vertical position of said pivotal mounting.

7. In multiple position chair construction, a seat, a back, mounting means for said seat and back including pivotal mounting means having a horizontal axis, a seat supporting frame, a second pivotal mounting means for said seat supporting frame, means mounting said second pivotal mounting means on said first pivotal mounting means and means for varying the vertical position of said first pivotal mounting means.

8. In multiple position chair construction, a first frame including a pair of back legs, a second frame including a pair of front legs, means for pivotally mounting said first and second frames together for movement of said legs toward and away from each other, a seat supporting frame wtihin said first and second frames and including portions for engagement with a seat to support the same, and means for mounting said seat supporting frame on said pivotal mounting means.

' 9. In multiple position chair construction, a first frame including a pair of front legs, a second frame including a pair of rear legs, means for pivotally mounting said frames together at the upper ends of said legs, a seat supporting frame, means for mounting said seat supporting frame on said pivotal mounting means, and means for raising and lowering said pivotal mounting means, said raising and lowering means including means for rocking said seat supporting frame about said pivotal mounting.

10. In multiple position chair construction, a first frame member including a pair of front legs and a back support and pivotal mounting means carried by said first frame member between said front legs and said back support, a second frame member including a pair of back legs with side frames extending upwardly therefrom, a pivotal mounting means carried by said second frame member between said back legs and said side frames and in pivotal mounting engagement with said pivotal mounting means of said first frame, means to vary the angular position of said front legs with respect to said back legs to raise and lower said pivotal mounting means, and means acting between said side frames and said back for securing said mounting means in raised position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 156,935 Carlson Jan. 24, 1950 1,009,372 Adams Nov. 21, 1911 2,407,786 Keest Sept. 17, 1946 2,467,963 Carlson Apr. 19, 1949 2,606,597 Carlson Aug. 12, 1952 2,662,585 Ozenne Dec. 15, 1953 2,726,875 Murcott Dec. 13, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 637,068 Great Britain May 10, 1950 

